The Quinta do Portal Winery commissioned Álvaro Siza to design a project aimed at turning their winery into a landmark destination on wine tourism routes. The result is an enclosed space which fits perfectly into its natural surroundings.
Views of the project overall.
Discussing graphic design and the professionals that practice it inevitably entails discussing languages. And dilemmas, in this case related to communication, since problem solving lies at the very heart of the culture of design and, also, since designing always involves making ethical, methodological and market choices. Thus, it is possible to interpret an author through his graphic language, but as the hypothesis of a personal project that deciphers a broader situation than the design itself.
Willem Gispen, a trailblazer in his double role as designer and manufacturer, decided to go for tubular steel and serial production and, in so doing, he chose to forgo aesthetic pretensions in his industrial creations. A well-known activist in the artistic and business circles of his time, Gispen was one of the individuals responsible for promoting the social values of the arts and crafts movement. The incorporation of his designs into the Dutch Originals replica catalogue is proof of the validity of his work.
The latest edition of Cevisama 2010, the International Show for Ceramics in Architecture and Bathroom and Kitchen Equipment, and the International Natural Stone and Machinery Fair, have decided to bring together their efforts to unify their offer in an attempt to meet market demands. The common denominator in this edition has been the importance given to environmental issues as is clear in many of the novelties that have been on display.
Irma Boom (Netherlands, 1960) is an editorial design activist who, after working for the Dutch Government Printing Office, founded Irma Boom Office in Amsterdam in 1991. Since then she has produced 200 books and has taught classes at Yale University in the US and the Van Eyck Academy in Maastrich. Her most ambitious project to date was the book celebrating the centenary of the Dutch conglomerate SHV, which she worked on for five years with complete freedom.
Discussing an author by pigeonholing him in the role of interpreter of the culture of his country is not the right thing to do; particularly if, more often than not, that culture is interpreted by turning to simplification or, worse still, stereotypes fit for absent-minded consumption.
